


Hold Me Under

by whimsical_ramblings



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: AND LOTS OF CRYING, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Happy Ending, Just platonic feelings, Not Shippy, Oh also, Yuri was so sad about Yuuri retiring and I just wanted to see them have a cute moment together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 02:55:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8951098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimsical_ramblings/pseuds/whimsical_ramblings
Summary: He had what he wanted, he had his gold and his record and the approval of his coaches; he’d beaten Yuuri, he’d beaten Victor, but it all felt hollow. Because Yuuri was leaving.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Something I whipped up in a super short amount of time because episode 12 gave me a lot of feelings

Yuri didn’t look at him when Yuuri climbed onto the podium, eyes trained on the flashing cameras as the gripped his gold medal firmly in his hand. The lights made his eyes burn, the cheers from the fans hurt his ears, and his chest felt tighter and tighter with every breath he took. He had what he wanted, he had his gold and his record and the approval of his coaches; he’d beaten Yuuri, he’d beaten Victor, but it all felt hollow. Because Yuuri was leaving. Yuuri wasn’t skating anymore. Yuuri would never compete on the same stage as him again.

He glanced in Yuuri’s direction, just for a brief moment, and he scowled when he noticed the slight smile on Yuuri’s face. He was actually okay with this. He was content to take his silver medal back to Japan and leave him behind. And Yuri had never felt more angry in his life.

After the medal ceremony ended, Yuri shrugged his jacket on, threw his bag over his shoulder, and made his way out into the hall before anyone could stop him. Angry tears started to build behind his eyes but he rubbed them away with the back of his arm. Everything about this felt wrong. Victor leaving had been one thing, but now Yuuri? Yuri had spent the last eight months trying desperately to keep up with him, to reach him, to surpass him. And now he’d done it, and Yuuri was just...leaving. All the work he’d done, the training, the sweat and blood and tears, all of it felt as though it meant nothing.

He heard the echo of footsteps and voices coming from behind him, and Yuri walked faster. They got louder, and he started to jog. When he could make out what they were saying, he started to run. It was customary for skaters to do meet and greets with the press after the medal ceremony was over, but the last thing Yuri wanted was to be caught up in that. He didn’t want to answer questions, he didn’t want microphones shoved his face, asking him if he was happy, if he was proud, what he planned to do next. He just wanted to be alone.

He slammed through the doors leading out into the parking garage and leaned up against a concrete wall, lungs drinking in the mild Spanish air. The garage was quiet and near deserted, and he took solace in the fact that no one was here to see him bend at the waist, to see him curl in on himself and rub the heels of his hands into his eyes. But the peace was short-lived, and after what must have been a minute later, the door he’d come through clicked open once more.

“Yurio?” a familiar voice called out. Yuri froze, then turned his head to see Yuuri standing in the doorway.

“Ah, Yurio!” he said, smiling. “I thought I saw you come this way. Everyone’s looking for…”

He trailed off when he noticed the crumpled look on Yuri’s face, the way his arms were wrapped around his stomach, fingers digging into the sleeves of his jacket.

“Yurio, are you-”

“I’m fine!” Yuri bit out, eyes trained on the ground. Careful footsteps made their way towards him, followed by a sympathetic sigh.

“We don’t have to go back out there if you don’t want,” Yuuri said. “I won’t tell anyone where you are, but could you...would you at least tell me what’s going on?”

Yuri’s face crumpled even further, and he did his best to hide it behind a scowl. “I told you, idiot, I’m fine. Now go away.”

“Are you sure?” Yuuri asked. “If you really want me to go I will, but-”

“I don’t care what you do!” Yuri snapped, whirling to face him. “Go wherever you want! Go back to Victor, go back to Japan, go back to your stupid little inn and be a nobody for all I care. Just leave me alone!”

Yuri’s chest was heaving by the time he finished, and when he finally looked up at Yuuri, he was expecting to see hurt, or confusion, or even anger. But instead he just looked...sad.

“Is this about my retirement?” he asked softly.

The word made Yuri’s stomach turn to lead. “How could you?” he asked. “You get your record and your dumb silver medal and that’s all you need? That’s all you care about? What about...what about... _argh_!”

He balled his hands into his hair, strands falling loose from his ponytail. He was so mad he could hardly think. He didn’t want to confront this, didn’t want to acknowledge it. Confronting it just made it real, and he didn’t want it to be real.

“Yurio?” a cautious voice asked. “Yurio, do you think...do you honestly think that me and Victor, that’d we’d...forget about you? That we wouldn’t want to be around you unless skating was involved?”

A choked sob bubbled up in his throat and forced its way past his lips, and before he could protest, he was being pulled into a warm embrace, his face buried against Yuuri’s shoulder. He tried to struggle at first, but quickly gave in. His program had left him exhausted, and now that the tears were flowing freely again, he was having a hard time rejecting the comfort being offered.

“Yuri,” he heard the other skater say, a hand cupping the back of his head. “Victor and I...we care a lot about you. And we’re really proud of you. No matter what happens, that won’t change.”

Yuri buried his face further into Yuuri’s shoulder, tears wetting the other man’s jacket. He tried to say something, to make some sort of biting remark, but all that came out were months and months worth of repressed sobs.

“And besides,” Yuuri continued. “After watching you skate, and talking with Victor...I changed my mind.”

Yuri immediately tensed, bringing his gaze up to meet Yuuri’s. “What?” he asked.

Yuuri shot him a smile. “This won’t be my last season”, he said. “So don’t worry, okay? I’m not going anywhere.”

Yuri stared at him in stunned silence for a moment, then collapsed fully against him, letting himself be held like the child he so often forgot he was. And even though he was crying, and his face felt swollen, and he was being held upright by a man he so often pretended to hate, Yuri had never felt more safe.

  



End file.
